SUMMER'S CAULDRON QUICKLY DRAINS

Socks, knitting, Buffy. Fall is here as far as my family is concerned. 

The hand-knit wool socks and warm sweaters are retrieved from cedar chests. Blankets are placed near the back door for when we light a fire outside but our laps need warming. The indoor fireplace is clean and tuned up for the days when it is officially crisp enough in the morning to merit a fire.

My youngest child is saying goodbye to her "shirtless summer" by wearing a black knit hoodie for the past few days. The zipper down the front ensures she can quickly experience shirtless freedom if need be. We are doing virtual schooling, so she has had to double down on the reality of shirt wearing.

My Broadwyn shawl, a two year work-in-progress knitting project is getting attention as my oldest child and I watch episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I did not watch television when the show originally ran but fall evenings now seem to ask us to sip cocoa & watch Buffy underneath fuzzy blankets. Maybe I'm  domesticated, maybe I want to finish a knitting project finally, maybe I just love cuddling with my almost teen - It is all cozy goodness.

Next is a trip to the orchard to buy local apples. Oh, we are wholesome. You can guess how many pies and cakes my girls and I will be making together. It's what we do.

We curl inwards as a family and prepare to face the cold by adding layers of protection. Our instincts for the season work with the lifestyle we are forced into through Covid-19.

It may be a long haul until spring. There are only 144 episodes of Buffy and I don't want to give myself carpal tunnel syndrome with all the knitting and baking. Yet, my family is good at coziness and we do want to bake all the pies and build all the fires wearing handmade socks right now. 

Covid may be seem running the world but we are bundling up and burning anxieties into our little fire pit of fall over here & it's keeping us happy.